Social Text

[Andrew Clarke Walser]

	As Jean points out, jargon can give a gloss of profundity to
utter nonsense -- among those, obviously, who do not wish to utter
nonsense. 
	In AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING, David Hume
distinguishes between impressions, which come from the senses, feelings,
and will, and ideas, which come from impressions.  Hume condemns language
that lacks any root in the empirical -- that drifts free of impressions 
AND ideas.  His objections, intended for theology, apply equally well
to the sort of prose Sokal mocks.
	Nevertheless, when I hear writers characterized as unreadable, I
cannot help but remember that snub of GRAVITY'S RAINBOW by the Pulitzer 
Committee.  Do the allies of Sokal really stand up for substance, or do 
they ask that words be windows, and resent anyone who attempts to stain 
the glass?

					Andrew Walser
					University of Illinois-Chicago


	"The proper response to poetry is not criticism 
		but poetry." -- Norman O. Brown